Baja St. Martin

By Linda Cooke

lcooke9417@bellsouth.net.

I received a small brochure in the mail this weekend from the St. Martin Parish School Board with a picture of Superintendent Richard Lavergne on the front.

Nice to see that so I’ll recognize him if ever we meet. The only item included that I might mention here is the school Web site, www.stmartin.k12.la.us. (Probably everyone already knows it but just in case some don’t.) There was also a mention that the Transportation Department is investigating ways to reduce bus costs because of the high cost of gas and diesel. I think that problem is probably plaguing every school system these days.

Crawfishing is booming! The price is 65 cents and I believe and fishermen are hauling in 40, 50 60 sacks a day. The boats start passing my house about 5:30 a.m. each weekday, heading to the landing which is still partially under water. I’m told most fishermen are limited to 40 sacks part of the week and then it’s all-you-can-catch the rest of the week. Despite the quantity of crawfish some are catching, the buyer stands don’t look that busy. In the past, when you drove by such a stand around 2 p.m., there would be a line of trucks and boats waiting to off-load and the stands would be piled with full sacks. I don’t know if the difference this year means there are fewer fishermen, of if crawfish are being packed into delivery trucks quicker, or if the overall amount is just less despite the amount some are hauling in.

Highway 70 through Pierre Part remains terrible. A few streets in Assumption are still flooded. One place near Lake Verret has been mostly under water for quite a while now and mail delivery to a particular street was stopped. The residents are up in arms, saying a juror promised their street would be raised and paved but it hasn’t happened. The police juror involved says he’ll look into the matter after the water goes down.

I spoke to a lady in the St. Martin Water and Sewage Board office and she said the roads in Stephensville were pretty clear of water in the Doiron subdivision and that Tower Tank Road was also clear. That’s just the ones she was aware of. Highway 70 between Belle River and Stephensville still has the HIGH WATER signs up but the water is only on the shoulder in one place. One half-decent rain could easily change that!

The water level has fallen at least three inches at my dock. I have a nice shiny aluminum windmill and wind vane on my dock that my husband made a few years ago and right now it’s standing still even though the trees outside are blowing around. That means, I believe, that the wind must be coming almost dead out of the west and my house blocks it. Either that or something is stuck!

I’ll be out of town for a few days, but when I return I should have, among other things, a report on the status of the Belle River bridge and hopefully, when the bridge will be closed. The day before the meeting was to be held, DOTD’s Brendan Rush would only say it definitely won’t be on June 2 as was once predicted. I’ll let you know what I find out.